Episode description

In this episode we sit down Shyam Sankar, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Palantir Technologies. We will dive into a wide range of topics, from cyber regulation, software liability, navigating Federal/Defense cyber compliance and the need for digital defense of the modern national security ecosystem.

- First off, for those unfamiliar with you and your background, can you tell us a bit about yourself, as well as Palantir?

You're a big proponent on the role that software plays now, and will play in the future when it comes the fifth domain of warfare, cybersecurity, so let's give into some of those topics.

- I know you've voiced some strong opinions on the role of cyber insurance and also compliance when it comes to its static nature, compared to the dynamic activity of malicious actors and the threat landscape. Can you expand on that?

- You and I also chatted about the fact that most cyber issues tie back to hygiene, and that there are no silver bullets. Do you feel like this gets lost among the marketing hype of cyber?

- I know you've talked about externalizing some of Palantir's software infrastructure to enable more companies with security infrastructure and toolchains. Can you tell us about some of those capabilities?

- The enablement of more companies is key, as you know the DIB has seen massive consolidation in the past decade or more, largely with the small handful of players dominating the lions share of the work in the DoD. This arguably poses systemic concentrated risks, as well as doesn't give access for the DoD to commercial innovation.

You called the DoD's most powerful ally America's commerical tech sector in a recent piece. We know that times have changed, and unlike eras of the past, most digital innovation comes from the commercial space, but DoD tends to have a not built here syndrome, no doubt driven by incumbents, incentives, fiefdom building and more. What do you think the national security risks of this are?

- Given you've been around DoD for some time, you've no doubt been exposed to processes like ATO's and RMF and more. What are your thoughts on the current state of compliance in the DoD and how it could potentially hinder access to commercial innovation?